BlackBerry rolls out new round of job cuts

Another round of jobs cuts has been levelled on staff at BlackBerry Ltd. as it deals with weak smartphone sales and pushes ahead with a turnaround plan.

The Waterloo, Ont.-based company declined on Tuesday to disclose how many employees were affected in the latest changes, but said that some were shifted to different roles while others were laid off.

It says the move is part of a plan to reallocate certain resources to help grow its operations.

BlackBerry has shed thousands of jobs since it began restructuring its operations under chief executive John Chen, who has focused on shifting the company's priorities since he joined it in November 2013.

A previous round of cuts happened earlier this year when it laid off an unspecified number of employees who made the hardware, software and applications for its phones.

Last month, Chen said the company was "looking at every single function" within its operations in an effort to reduce costs.

Many of those changes have been centerd on outsourcing the company's smartphone development and manufacturing.

BlackBerry (TSX:BB) has faced an onslaught of competition from other phone manufacturers including Apple and Samsung who represent the majority of global device sales.